SBAR Potato Granting Committee
Meeting Minutes
October 28, 1998
The State Board of Agricultural Research's Potato Granting Committee meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m. on October 28, 1998.
A motion was made and seconded to suspend the rules to allow the members present to be considered the voting delegation.
The motion carried.
The committee reviewed the legislative intent, criteria and guidelines for the Agricultural Research Fund. ARF is a special fund in the state treasury derived from checkoffs indicated on the oil tax refund of $0.04 per gallon of gasoline. The monies in the fund must be expended for agricultural research and will be approved on a yearly basis.
A 25% match is required for potato research proposals. The funding may come from the applicant or from private or public sources. The amount available for grants to the potato committee is $17,235.88.
Proposals Review
1. Economically Feasible Management Strategies for Colorado Potato Beetle
Researchers: Dr. Denise Olson & Dr. David L. Watt Amount Requested: $8,000
The Colorado potato beetle (CPB) is the most destructive leaf feeding insect attacking potatoes in the potato production regions of North Dakota and Minnesota. Treatment recommendations, for CPB, are borrowed from other regions of the country, and are not well adapted to local conditions and production practices. This project will assess the response of potato yield to CPB injury, to develop effective and economical management strategies for this insect pest. When growers can time insecticide applications based on yield response to defoliation and economic benefits of treatment strategies, then they can maintain a balance between profitable potato production and a healthy environment.
The funds would be used for labor (field preparation, planting, chemical applications, CPB scouting, and harvest), supplies (fertilizer, herbicide, insecticide, fungicide, and seed potatoes), and travel costs to the field plots.
2. Applied Research and Demonstration of Successful Irrigated Potato Production in Northwest North Dakota
Researcher: Dr. Jerald W. Bergman Amount Requested: $15,000
This project proposes to demonstrate successful irrigated potato production under varying soil textures in northwest North Dakota to promote irrigation development and a potato processing industry in this region. With a cooperative team approach, Nessan Valley farmers will team up with NDSU, MSU, and USDA-ARS research and extension staff, and the J.R. Simplot Company in this potato research and demonstration project. Other co-sponsors include the ND Agricultural Products Utilization Commission, RR Valley Potato Growers Association, and the Williston Area Economic Development Foundation.
The funds would be used for technical assistance for the principal investigators, laboratory costs for soil, plant nutrient, and quality assessments, and travel costs.
3. Development of an Irrigated Site for Potato Breeding and Production Research
Researcher: Dr. Rich Novy Amount Requested: $19,850
The rapid and continuing expansion of irrigated potato acreage in North Dakota requires the development of an irrigated site dedicated to the development of cultivars and production guidelines specific for North Dakota's irrigated potato research in North Dakota. The funds would be used for the development of the site as well as the first year's plot research.
4. Continued Operation of 16 Western North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network (NDAWN) Stations
Researcher: Dr. John Enz Amount Requested: $7,200
The North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network (NDAWN) was begun in 1989 to provide timely, detailed, reliable weather data for all areas of agriculture. Since then it has expanded to 50 stations that are distributed across the state. Varying weather conditions throughout the growing season determine the rate of development of crops, weeds, insects, and diseases during all years. Producers can make management decisions using computer program (models) that predict crop and pest development based on current NDAWN weather data. Models can warn of impending disease or insect infestations so that corrective action may be taken at the optimum time. Or, they may indicate no action is required saving a producer time and money as well as reducing pesticide use and its potential adverse environmental effects. Continued availability of NDAWN weather data from all areas of the state (including the 16 stations identified above) is essential for the operational use of these agricultural models and to the research
programs of nearly all agricultural scientists at NDSU. The large Scab research
program s just one example. So far only a tiny fraction of the potential value of NDAWN has been realized for North Dakota residents. The longer the period of record that can be accumulated the more valuable these data become.
The funds would be used to pay 50% of the non-labor operational costs for 16 NDAWN stations located near the cities of Baker, Beach, Bottineau, Bowman, Columbus, Dazey, Edgeley, Harvey, Hazen, Linton, Mohall, Robinson, Rolla, Towner, Turtle Lake, and Watford City.
Funding Decisions
It was moved and seconded to provide negotiated funding of up to $14,000 for the "Development of an Irrigated Site for Potato Breeding and Production Research" proposal and up to $3,235.88 for the "Applied Research and Demonstration of Successful Irrigated Potato Production in Northwest North Dakota" proposal.
The motion carried unanimously. Rich Novy abstained from voting.
It was the committee's consensus to provide support to the NDAWN project during the 1999 Legislative session in an attempt to gain state funding for the project.
The committee meeting was adjourned.
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